


Nonverbal Skills

by jessie_pie



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Cuddling & Snuggling, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Fallen Castiel, Hugs, Human Castiel, M/M, One Shot, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-03-24
Updated: 2014-03-24
Packaged: 2018-01-16 20:27:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 530
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1360654
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jessie_pie/pseuds/jessie_pie
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Everyone in Supernatural needs a hug. Some people finally get one.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Nonverbal Skills

**Author's Note:**

> Special thanks to my dear friend Osito. A good beta makes writing a joy!
> 
> (Supernatural does not belong to the author of this fic.)

Castiel had not left his room for several hours. A guy needed privacy sometimes, Sam knew, but a few hours was kind of a long time- especially since Cas usually acted like he was tethered to Dean by a slightly too short leash. Dean, for his part, hadn’t seemed to notice Cas’s absence. He had gone out to pick up more beer. Sometimes, Dean could be a total dick. Castiel had saved both their lives more times than Sam cared to count and had given up more than he wanted to consider, even his grace, but Dean rarely acknowledged the angel’s sacrifices. And over the past few days, he had barely acknowledged the angel. Sam supposed he shouldn’t be too hard on Dean; he was holding on to so much pain and trauma that it was a miracle he could function at all.   
“Cas?” Sam knocked on his door. “You ok?”  
“Yeah…” His tone implied the opposite.   
_No prizes for guessing why_ , Sam thought. “Can I come in?”  
“Yeah.”  
Sam pushed the door open. Castiel was sitting on his bed, facing into the corner. He had curled himself into an incredibly small ball, and was still wearing that absurd coat. It was floppy and loose on him, like a beige blanket. His shoulders were shaking.   
“What’s the matter?” Sam asked, sitting on the edge of the mattress. He deliberately faced away from Cas. Not everyone liked an audience to their emotions.   
“It’s Dean,” Castiel began. “When I raised him, I thought he would regain happiness, but every time I looked into his mind, all I saw was pain. I can’t sense his thoughts anymore, but sometimes I could see them in his eyes, and now he won’t even look at me, and I think he’s angry with me, and I _don’t know why_ -” The fallen angel’s voice had started out low and began to tremble as he worked through the recitation. The last word was drawn out into a rising wail of barely suppressed hysteria.  
Sam gently put a hand on Castiel’s shoulder. He needed it.   
Castiel turned his head toward Sam with that curious, bird-like tilt. His blue eyes were puzzled, searching, his eyebrows scrunched together. Sam couldn’t quite read his expression. Castiel leaned towards Sam slightly, then away, then towards him again. Suddenly, he threw his arms around Sam and clung to him as though he had just been saved from drowning.  
This was quite unexpected. This was more physical contact than Castiel had ever initiated with him- but if it was what he needed…Sam cautiously folded his arms around Cas. The angel pulled closer to him, burying his face in his neck… How had Castiel gotten in his lap?  
Sam froze. He _should_ be pushing Cas off of his lap; he _should_ be standing up and walking out of the room- but he was still sitting on the mattress with Castiel’s face pressed against his neck and his arms were still wrapped around the fallen angel’s back. He’d hurt enough people, and he didn’t want to add Cas to that list, not today. And, gradually, Sam realized, much to his surprise… it was kind of nice.


End file.
